Key-holder



J. H. BOYE.

KEY HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED AUG.23, 1920. v I 1,364,240. Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

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UNITED STATES JAMES H. BOYE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

KEY-HOLDER.

Application filed August 23, 1920.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES H. Born, a citizen. of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Key-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements 1n key-holders, and has reference more particularly to key-holders of that type wherein the ring or loop on which the keys are strung has an opening for the application and removal of the keys, and a guard or closure member normally connecting the two ends of the ring and spanning the opening. Among the salient objects of the inventlon are, to provide an improved key-holder of this type which may be easily manipulated for the application and removal of keys to provide an improved guard or closure which may be readily coupled to and uncoupled from one end of the ring or loop, and at the same time shall securely hold the two ends of the latter against accidental separation; to provide an improved key-holder which shall be adapted to be suspended from the upper end of the pocket, thereby holding the keys off the bottom of the pocket and preventing wear upon the latter; and to provide an improved suspension hook which will be securely clamped to the outer wall of the pocketand thereby prevent accidental dislodgment and loss of the keys.

With these and other objects in view, which will be apparent from the following detailed description, the invention consists in the new and improved structural features and combinations of the loop, guard and suspension hook. substantiallv as hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.

in the aceon'ipanying drawing I have illus trated one practical embodiment of the in.- vention, and referring thereto- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the article. with the key-carrying loop in closed and locked position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the loop open and the suspension hook and guard or coupling member swung to one side in a po sition to facilitate the application and re moval of the keys to and from the loop;

Fig. is a vertical section taken; on the line 33 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 14c of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing, 5 designates a Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1921.

Serial No. 405,341.

loop or open ring, the two opposed spaced ends of which are formed with round knobs or balls 6 and 7. The loop 5 is preferably of steel or other elastic wire, with the balls struck up thereon, and in the normal or uncompressed position of the opposite halves of the loop, the balls 6 and 7 stand spaced apart to about the extent indicated in Fig. 2, which is ample for the insertion and re moval of keys over the free end 7. 8 designates as a whole the guard or coupling mem her which consists of a strip of elastic metal doubled transversely upon itself, the lower portion of the guard being formed, by stamping, with a pair of substantially spherlcal sockets 9 and 10 adapted to re ceive the ballet and 7, respectively. As shown in. Fig. 4, the upper portion of the socket 9 is sufiiciently contracted, as shown at 11, to permanently confine the ball 6 therein, but enabling the guard 8 to swing on the ball 6 in any direction. The upper portion of the socket 10 is likewise slightly contracted, as shown at 12 in Fig. 3, to form a passage way or neck of a width slightly less than the diameter of the wire of which the loop 5 is made, and above the socket l() the walls of the uard are expanded or spread sufficiently to provide an easy entrance and exit passage 13 for the ball 7.

Where the key-holder is to housed in association with a suspension hook, as herein shown, the guard or closure last described is formed as an integral lower end portion of a suspension hook 14. The free member or tongue 14 of this hook is formed with an outwardly bent lower end or lip 145 which facilitates the passage of the hook over the upper edge of the outer wall of a hippocket; and to more securely clamp the hook on the wall of the. pocket against danger of accidental dislodgment, I provide in the shank and tongue of the hook registering laterally offset portions or hollow-ribs 15 and 16, respectively, the rib 161of'the tongue normally nesting'in the rib 15 of the body, as clearly shown in Fig; 3'; so that when the hook is applied to the wall of the pocket, the cloth of the latter is crimped between said ribs, and thereby more securely gripped than would be possible between two plain flat surfaces. The hook, of course, is made of steel or other resilient material so that the tongue 14. will spring outwardly sufficiently thus not only effecting a more secure grip of the hook on the fabric, but preventing swinging of the key-holder and keys in the pocket.

The normal operative position of the device is as shown in Fig. 1. To open the loop for the application and removal of keys, the

' loop is securely grasped by the thumb and fingers of one hand, while with the other hand the hook and guard are tilted to the right, from the position shown in Fig. l; or the hook is held rigid and the loop is tilted in the same direction. This causes the end of the loop carrying the ball 7 to rise upwardly through the contracted spring neck 19. of the socket 10 into the opening 13, out of which it instantly springs under the elasticity of the loop itself. The hook is then swung to the left to about the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby leaving an ample opening for the passage of the keys.

The loop is closed by the simple reverse of these movements. The hook is swung back until the opening 13 lies directly oppo site the ball 7, and the loop is compressed by the thumb and finger, carrying the ball 7 into the opening 13. This done, the hook is swung back to the vertical position or the loop is swung to the left, which carries the neck of the loop lying just behind the ball 7 downwardly through the contracted spring neck 12 of the ball socket, this bringing the ball 7 into full registration with its socket. 10. and the loop is closed.

The holder, with its keys. is very easily slipped into the hip pocket by dropping it into the latter and at the same time passing the open lower end of the hook down over the upper edge of the outer wall of the pocket; and in doing this, the cloth of the latter is clamped and crimped between mating ribs 15, 16, of the hook. and the latter is held against accidental dislodgment, but may be readily withdrawn under a suflicient pull. Obviously, so far as the described structure and functions of the loop and its guard or closure are concerned, the presence or absence of the hook is not essential, but the combined structure provides a very simple and handy key-carrier not requiring a chain for purposes of safety, and holding the keys off the bottom of the pocket, with the advantages already mentioned.

Manifestly, the structural details of the invention may be considerably modified from those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of this invention, or sacrificing any of its advantages. Hence, I reserve all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a key-holder, the combination with a spring wire loop member formed with opposed spaced enlarged ends, of a guard having a socket permanently engaged with one of said enlarged ends and another socket formed with a contracted transversely elastic neck whereby it is adapted for separable engagement with the other of said enlarged ends.

2. In a key-holder, the combination with a spring wire loop member formed with opposed spaced ball-shaped ends, of a guard for separably coupling said ends, said guard having on one edge a spherical socket permanently engaged with one of said ballshaped ends, and on its other edge a spherical socket formed with a transversely elastic neck adapting it for separable engagement with the other of said ball-shaped ends.

In a key-holder, the combination with a spring wire loop member formed with opposed spaced knobs on its ends of a guard for separably coupling said ends, said guard being formed on one edge with a socket per manently engaged with one of said knobs, and on its other edge with a socket having a transversely elastic neck and with an opening to admit the other knob, whereby the wire of said loop directly behind said last-named knob may be pressed through said neck to carry said last-named knob into and out of its cooperating socket.

L. In a key-holder, the combination with a spring wire loop member formed with opposed spaced knobs on its ends, of a guard for separably coupling said ends, said guard comprising a transversely elastic generally .tl-shaped member formed with substantially spherical sockets in its side walls, one of said knobs being permanently hinged in one of said sockets, and the other knob being separably hinged in the other of said sockets andbeing insertible into and removable from the latter by reason of the transverse elasticity of said guard.

5. In a key-holder, the combination of a loop member formed with spaced ends, and a suspension hook having its lower end permanently hinged by a ball-andsocket joint to one of said ends and separably hinged by a transversely elastic ball-and-socket joint to the other of said ends.

6. In a key-holder, the combination with a ring to carry the keys, of a suspension hook attached to said ring, the shank and tongue of said hook being formed with laterally offset nested portions adapted to effect a grip upon the outer wall of a pocket upon which said hook is hung.

7. In a key-holder, the combination with a ring to carry the keys, of a spring suspension hook attached to said ring, the shank and tongue of said hook being formed with nested hollow ribs adapted to crimp between them the outer walls of a pocket upon which said hook is hung.

JAMES H. BOYE. 

